Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has slammed the World Economic Forum (WEF) for revoking an invitation to the annual meeting in Davos over his country's crackdown on recent protests, accusing the forum of applying "blatant double standards" and succumbing to political pressure from Israel. The WEF confirmed that Araghchi will not attend this year's summit, running until Jan. 23, saying that "although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year." Araghchi said in a post on X on Monday night that the decision was made by WEF "on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its US-based proxies and apologists." Araghchi had been scheduled to speak on Tuesday during the summit at the Swiss ski resort town. The Iranian minister criticized what he called the WEF's "blatant double standards" for keeping an invitation open to Israel's President Isaac Herzog despite international accusations of genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. Araghchi said the forum's decision came even though "Israel's genocide of Palestinians and mass slaughter of 71,000 innocent people did not compel it to cancel any invitation extended to Israeli officials whatsoever." The WEF's decision comes as stability has been restored across Iran following a period of foreign-instigated unrest. What began as peaceful protests late last month gradually turned violent, as rioters rampaged through cities across the country, killing security forces and attacking public infrastructure. The foreign minister stressed that the Iranian government had to defend the people against "armed terrorists and ISIS-style killings" openly backed by the Israeli spy agency Mossad. The US and Israel have acknowledged their direct involvement on the ground, with former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting, "Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also, to every Mossad agent walking beside them." Germany, one of the United States' closest and strongest allies in Europe, also stated its opposition to extending an invitation to Iranian officials. The Munich Security Conference on Friday said it was also withdrawing an invitation to Araghchi. — Agencies
